ethnic recipes

Beef And Vegetable Soup With Pistou

>
>

Beef And Vegetable Soup With Pistou

>
>
Pistou, or pistou sauce, is a Provençal cold sauce made from cloves of garlic, fresh basil, and olive oil. (It sometimes includes grated cheese and/or tomato.
In the Provençal dialect, pistou means “pounded”. The sauce is derived from the Genoese pesto, which is traditionally made of garlic, basil, pine nuts, grated Sardinian Pecorino, and olive oil, crushed and mixed together with a mortar and pestle. The key difference between pistou and pesto is the absence of pine nuts in pistou. (Source: wikipedia.org)
.
Well, there you have it – pistou, a classic tool to transport an ordinary dish to the next level of culinary happiness 🙂

>
Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
>
>
Pistou:
>

: basil plant, about to loose a bunch of leaves……

: place basil leaves in a mortar

: add garlic cloves, olive oil, kosher salt and cayenne pepper, muddle everything with the pestle

: Et Voilà – “Pistou”

>
>

Beef And Vegetable Soup :
>
>

: add sliced beef neck bones to water seasoned with kosher salt, cayenne pepper, garlic paste and grated ginger, simmer until meat is tender, about 2 hours

: when meat is tender, remove, set aside

: meanwhile, remove meat from bones, discard bones

: cut meat into bitesize pieces

: add raw baby carrots to the soup, simmer until carrots are tender

: when carrots are soft, add large diced cabbage, cooked potato wedges and return beef to the soup, cover, simmer until cabbage has wilted but is not mushy, about 3 minutes, check/adjust seasoning

: serve soup with pistou and fresh grated parmigiano-reggiano

: Beef And Vegetable Soup With Pistou

: Beef And Vegetable Soup With Pistou

: Beef And Vegetable Soup With Pistou

>
>
>
>
>

Broiled Beef Ribs With Chimichurri And Hasselback Potato

>
>
Since I don’t have an outside grill anymore, I “grill” (broil) all my grill dishes in my oven under the broiler on high heat.
Cooking for myself only, this works great for me, it gives me the sought-after “Maillard Reaction”, requires no lengthy grill preparation and on top of all, saves a lot of cleaning effort 🙂
Today I had some delicious beef ribs and a hearty hasselback potato, accompanied by some leftover chimichurri from my last steak dinner. Life is Good !
>
Bon Appetit ! ¡buen provecho!
>
>

More about Chimichurri
>
More about Maillard Reaction
>
More Hasselback Potatoes
>
More Grilled Beef Ribs on ChefsOpinion
>
>

Broiled Beef Ribs With Chimichurri And Hasselback Potato

>
>
>
Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
>
>
>

: cut slices across the potato the short way about 1/8 to 1/4 inch apart, making sure to cut down but not all the way through the potato, so the slices stay connected at the bottom and don’t fall apart

: brush the potato generously with butter or olive oil, then season with kosher salt and cayenne pepper, bake at 400F until done, about 45 minutes; while baking, brush often with more butter or olive oil

: beef ribs, cut thin across the bones

: season with soy sauce, kosher salt, cayenne pepper, granulated garlic, dried oregano and dried thyme

: spread ribs on oven rack, brush with olive oil

: broil (or grill) on high heat on both sides until lightly charred but still medium rare and juicy

: to serve, drizzle generously with chimichurri

: Broiled Beef Ribs With Chimichurri And Hasselback Potato

: Broiled Beef Ribs With Chimichurri And Hasselback Potato

>
>
>
>
>

Salad Of Mussels, Octopus, Sardines, Artichokes, Potatoes, Eggs & Greens

>
>
Today was “Fix and clean the computer day” at my house (re-installing all programs, etc), therefore there was no time for elaborate cooking (or anything else, for that matter).
So what better way to not cook but still eat a great meal than a large salad with veggies and canned seafood.
As I mentioned before, canned seafood can be great if you know what you are buying and forgo the cheaper, inferior brands.
Just experiment with different brands until you find the one that will ring your bells 🙂
>
Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
>
>
Link to Cuban Crackers
>
Link to Escabeche
>
>

Salad Of Mussels, Octopus, Sardines, Artichokes, Potatoes, Eggs & Greens Salad

>
>
>
Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
>
>
>

: romaine lettuce and fresh spinach

: add sliced peppers, shredded carrots and small potato wedges

: add marinated artichoke hearts and boiled eggs

: add octopus en escabeche, mussels en escabeche, olive oil, cider vinegar, garlic paste, kosher salt and cayenne pepper

: plate salad with Cuban crackers

: garnish with tomatoes, sardines en escabeche, eggs and sliced scallions

: Salad Of Mussels, Octopus, Sardines, Artichokes, Potatoes, Eggs & Greens Salad

: Salad Of Mussels, Octopus, Sardines, Artichokes, Potatoes, Eggs & Greens Salad

>
>
>
>

Japanese Pork, Korean Rice Cakes And French Beans (Teriyaki Feast)

>
>
While the ingredients for this dish (and the cooking methods) are not exactly a traditional combination, for my personal palette they compliment each other perfectly. They are typical for the dishes I prepare for myself at home. On the other hand, would I still cater to guests at a restaurant or at home, I would not hesitate to serve this kind of food as a course in a multi-course menu. (As I have done many times).
Having been trained in and practiced for most of my career classic French cuisine, as well as garnering experience in local cuisines around the globe, this type of “fusion cuisine” has become my personal cooking style. Nowadays, cooking mostly for myself, a few close friends and the occasional high-end private gig, I don’t have to confirm to traditional cuisines anymore; – my food has become truly a fusion of dishes, methods and ingredients from around the world. Mind you, I don’t try to make my food appear haphazardly strange or exotic on purpose, but sometimes that’s the result when mixing without restraint 🙂
>
Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
>
P.S.
“Teriyaki” in this dish refers to the teriyaki sauce as part of the dish, not the traditional cooking method. Click for Teriyaki
>
>
>

Japanese Pork, Korean Rice Cakes And French Beans

>
>
>
Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
>
>
>

Standard cup board items in my kitchen:
>

: Ginger Paste

: Garlic Confit Paste

: Chile Oil

: Soy Sauce

: Teriyaki Sauce

>
>

: mix soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, ginger paste, garlic paste, and chile oil into sweet and spicy marinade, about 1 cup

: marinade pork butt in the marinade for two days, turning often

: to a non-stick pan, add the 1 cup marinade, 6 cups of water and the pork but

: cover the pan, bring to a boil, turn heat to very low, simmer until pork is very tender, about 2 hours, depending on the size of the butt

: remove pork but, set aside, keep warm

: remove 1/3 of the stock, reduce until thickened, put the pork on a baking rack, brush with the thickened glaze, bake for twenty minutes at 375F, brush with glaze every 5 minutes

: meanwhile, rinse rice cakes for 5 minutes

: cook rice cakes in lightly salted water for 2 to 3 minutes, drain, rinse

: add rice cakes and blanched beans to the remaining teriyaki stock, simmer for 2 minutes, check / adjust seasoning

: plate the rice cakes and beans

: top with sliced pork and pork skin

: nape generously with the teriyaki stock, sprinkle with scallions

: Japanese Pork, Korean Rice Cakes And French Beans

: Japanese Pork, Korean Rice Cakes And French Beans

: Japanese Pork, Korean Rice Cakes And French Beans

: Japanese Pork, Korean Rice Cakes And French Beans

: First Bite 🙂

>
>
>
>

Red Lentil Soup With Smoked Turkey Leg

>
>
It’s getting cooler at night lately, so hot soup is again welcome, especially when eaten al fresco. This soup took about two and a half hours to cook from beginning to end, but the actual prep-time was only a few minutes, which makes it a perfect dish when you don’t feel like getting too involved with heavy prep-work, but still want to have a satisfying meal 🙂
>
Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
>
P.S.
If you want your lentils with more texture, cook the turkey leg first in lightly salted water, then cook the lentils with the resulting stock until just done.
>
>

Red Lentil Soup With Smoked Turkey Leg

>
>
>
Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
>
>
>

: saute garlic paste in butter until fragrant

: add julienned onions, saute until lightly caramelized

: add red lentils, maggi seasoning, bay leave, kosher salt, cayenne pepper, ground cumin and dried oregano

: add chicken or vegetable stock

: add the smoked turkey leg

: simmer until turkey leg is tender, about two hours

: almost……

: remove turkey, dice, check / adjust seasoning of lentils

: Red Lentil Soup With Smoked Turkey Leg

: Red Lentil Soup With Smoked Turkey Leg

>
>
>
>
>

Hearts On Fire

>
>
If you have followed ChefsOpinion for some time, you know that I am very fond of Offal.
I understand of course that not everybody shares this fondness, but for the most part, in most of the offal dishes that I blog about, the offal can be replaced with more run of the mill proteins, such as shrimp, chicken breast, sliced beef and even vegetables.
For the rest of us – offal rock! 🙂
In the past, when my wife and I used to go with friends to Brazilian Churrasqueiras, everybody thought I was mad when I stuffed myself with grilled chicken hearts, while Maria and our friends enjoyed their Picanha, Entrana, and other more popular cuts. But for me, the meat-course always started with a bunch of chicken hearts. I was only ever able to find them in Brazilian Churrasqueiras, so I always took advantage of the opportunity to indulge. Nowadays, I go out very seldom, so when the craving for chicken hearts hits me, I have to prepare them myself.
I prepare them in different ways, grilled, braised, fried or simmered in soup.
Last night I felt the need for something spicy, so I prepared the hearts as follows – I seasoned them with soy sauce and lots of garlic, coated them in corn starch and then fried them in pure chili oil. The result was truly “Hearts on Fire ” – they were hellishly spicy from the chili oil but the more subtle-seasoned bok choy toned it down a bit and when eaten together, the result was pure culinary bliss – very tasty,very spicy, very addictive 🙂
>
Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
>
>
How to make Home Made Chile Oil
>
>

Hearts on Fire

>
>
>
Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
>
>
>

: blanch baby bok choy in salted water, shock in ice water, drain

: simmer one cup of chicken stock, season with 1 tblsp soy sauce, 1 tsp garlic paste, 1 tsp grated ginger and a dash of salt, thicken with a bit of corn starch slurry

: add bok choy to sauce, simmer one minute until heated through

: arrange bok choy on serving platter, nape with sauce, cover, keep warm

: season hearts (or other protein) with kosher salt, soy sauce and granulated garlic

: dust with corn starch, mix well

: fry hearts at high heat until crisp on the outside but still juicy on the inside

: add scallions and whole pickled chilies

: serve hearts over bok choy

: Hearts on Fire

: Hearts on Fire

>
>
>
>
>

Tortilla Dulce

>
>
When I got out of bed this morning, visions of sweet crepes swirled around my head and after I walked Bella for an hour around the lake, we were ready for our sweet reward. As I gathered the ingredients from the fridge, I came across some leftover tortillas from last nights dinner. Now, as you probably know, flour tortillas are a very versatile ingredient and are perfectly suited for a sweet dish, especially when a lot of sauce and other moist ingredients, such as fruit, are involved. So that settled things, tortillas instead of crepes it was. Turns out that for my personal taste, the tortillas, because of their more sturdy texture, were actually better suited than crepes for this particular dish 🙂
>
Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
>

Tortilla Dulce

>
>
>
Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
>
>
>

: cook sugar on low heat

: cook sugar until caramelized

: add heavy cream, simmer until lightly thickened

: creamy caramel sauce

: apple, pears & oranges

: cut the apple and pears around the core, peel the oranges

: cut apple and pears into cubes, filet the oranges

: saute in butter with a dash of sugar and a few drops of organic vanilla essence until heated but not mushy

: flour tortilla

: spread tortilla with raspberry marmalade

: spread Greek yogurt on top of marmalade

: top center-line with the sauteed fruits

: roll tortilla

: almost……..

: put tortillas on ovenproof dish, sprinkle with sugar

: gratinate tortillas under broiler until sugar caramelizes

: serve tortillas with caramel sauce

: Tortilla Dulce

: Tortilla Dulce

: Tortilla Dulce

>
>
>
>

Wing Recipe # 1001

>
>
Seems like everybody and their mother has THE BEST recipe for chicken wings, and, I have to admit, I myself have a few of them.
Now this one is definitely among the very best and I hope you will give it a shot.
Maybe you will even agree with me that these wings are among the very best, if not THE BEST OF THE BEST ? 🙂
>
Bon Appetit ! Wings Fly !
>
More Wings on ChefsOpinion
>
>

Wing Recipe # 1001

>
>
>
Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
>
>
>

: mix julienned red onions with soy sauce, garlic paste, lime juice and sriracha

: mix olive oil, lime juice, chopped capers, chopped cilantro, kosher salt and cayenne pepper

: season wings with kosher salt, granulated garlic and sriracha, fry until crisp on the outside but not completely cooked through, remove from fat, blot dry, season with soy sauce, sriracha and garlic paste

: place on wire rack, bake at 375 until browned

: when top of wings are browned and crisp, remove from oven

: turn wings upside down

: spread onions on top of wings, bake at 375F until onions are caramelized

: remove wings from oven, dredge in the herb-lime seasoning

: plate wings on serving dish, douse with more of the herb-lime seasoning

: Wing Recipe # 1001

>
>
>
>
>

Easy Does It # 29 – Home Made Chile Oil

>
>
You might ask yourself what’s the point in making your own chile oil, since you can buy it everywhere? The simple answer is quality and heat-level, since you have control of the quality of the chiles you use as well as the quantity of seeds you incorporate, by buying your own Chinese Red Peppers. (Or Tianjin Pepper, sometimes you’ll also find them referenced as Tientsin Peppers, named after the province in China where they are native). They closely resemble Cayenne and Japones Chiles and come in at between 50,000 – 70,000 SHU (Scoville Heat Units). There are approximately 50 to 60 chiles per ounce. As with all chiles, the seeds pack most of the heat and the seeds can quickly overpower the fruit’s flavor. You might want to remove some of the seeds from the fruit in order to tone down the heat a bit. If you use the chile oil as dipping oil, you might also want to add some cinnamon and star anise for extra flavor to steep in the oil before straining. I have added neither, since I mostly use my chile oil as cooking oil and add additional flavors to the individual dishes during preparation as required.
>
Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
>
>

remove stems from chiles

cook in peanut oil until starting to change color, remove from heat

put oil with chiles in blender, blend until chiles are finely ground

let steep overnight

strain through fine mesh sieve

Home Made Chile Oil

>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

Schwäbisches Rotkraut Mit Kasseler Rippenspeer Und Knoblauchkartoffeln

>
>
Easy now with the German tongue breaker – it’s just red cabbage with smoked pork loin and garlic potatoes, jawohl 🙂
>
The secret to a good red cabbage (as well as sauerkraut) is to cook it long enough and to bind the juices, two simple steps that most cooks ignore. Unlike some other recipes steeped in a long tradition, in my opinion, this one does NOT improve with modernisation or simplification. It is a very straightforward preparation which will be rewarded with a great dish, wonderful in taste, texture and presentation.
>
Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
>
P.S.
Although this dish does not really need a sauce, I am a typical “Schwoab“, who loves sauce with everything.
So I made a sauce with the drippings from the kasseler, some finely chopped tomatoes and a shot of red wine 🙂
>
>
>
Sauerkraut on ChefsOpinion
>
>